I have a dragon egg and a dragon pit built at my capital but everytime I attempt to hatch the egg it's unsuccessful. I don't have dragon rider trait or anything but that shouldn't be required right?
You need dragon information, you can get it from the citadel, harrenhal, old ghis and some other places, checking the dragon events is a good place to get a list. The more info, the better the chances. Being high valyrian helps I think